PAS has urged the Ministry of Higher Education to set up a special committee to probe the termination of contracts for 92 lecturers in Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), Sungai Besi.

PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub alleged that the mass termination was a result of a massive restructuring initiated after the new deputy vice-chancellor (academics and globalisation) Rugayah Mohamed took office.

NONE However it is not clear who is behind the move to terminate the lecturers.

According to Salahuddin, the only reason given for the termination was that those involved were holding advanced diplomas.

“I am championing this because they (the university) needs to understand that the defence university isn’t the same as any other university.

“Its objective is to produce expertise in the area of defence and security, so they need instructors who are experienced and not just paper qualifications,” said Salahuddin during a press conference today.

UPNM is a government-owned university formed in 2007 during former PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration. It was formerly known as the Malaysian Armed Forces Academy that was first established in 1995.

According to its official website, UPNM “prepares the Malaysian military and civilian leaders to better address national and international security challenges through multi-disciplinary educational programmes, research, professional exchanges and outreach”.

According to the website, UPNM graduates eventually go on to become officers in the armed forces and other government sectors, as well as the private sector.